I know what some of you are thinking. So let’s get this out of the way. Anthony Spencer is older now, he had microfracture surgery on his knee which devastates the vast majority of NFL careers. If you don’t believe that, just ask Jonathan Vilma. Spencer played the majority of 2014 but he wasn’t the same guy as 2012 before the surgery. Expecting much on the field is probably setting ourselves up for disappointment. The odds of him turning out like Champ Bailey or Olin Kreutz are high. OK, glad we established that.
There is the occasional Yahtzee with these older veterans. For every fifty Ed Reeds to the Texans, there’s a Darren Sharper to the Saints in the twilight of his career. Let’s not forget the state that Drew Brees came to the Saints in. It’s possible that someone can still contribute after injury. In Spencer’s case, I’m not expecting a Brees like transformation or anything close to it. I’m also not assuming it’s definitely Champ Bailey redux, either.
The reality is this: the Saints play the run poorly, the rush the passer average at best, and they need more veteran leadership in the locker room. Anthony Spencer provides a likely boost to all three. Whether he starts, gives valuable backup reps, or is just around for training camp to help some younger guys come along – it’s a bonus. And that’s why this signing was necessary.
Further, it’s insurance for Junior Galette. Galette could still face a suspension, and even if he doesn’t you now have Spencer in the mix to go with Kasim Edebali. Spencer can also give you some coverage ability and run support. He’s a versatile player that knows Rob Ryan’s defense very well. In fact, he played the best football of his career with Ryan as his defensive coordinator. Most importantly, it allows the Saints to draft based on the best player available.
Going into this draft before the Spencer signing I would have said the Saints need to draft a pass rusher in the 1st round no matter what. That’s still probably the case, but it’s not as big of a disaster if it waits until the 2nd or 3rd round now, because they have depth in Kasim Edebali, Glenn Foster and now Spencer. Spencer gives you just a little bit more piece of mind. As you know Mickey Loomis says that always like to address needs in free agency so they are in a position to draft the best guy that comes to them in the draft. This Spencer signing allows them to now do exactly that. And for that reason, Spencer is the missing piece to the Saints free agent class.
I love the pickup and hope Spencer can show off some of his best football again in black and gold. If he can’t, though, there’s probably still a place for him. It’s important to remember that adding talent is about bolstering depth and creating competition. Spencer absolutely does that and it’s not like the Saints broke the band or made some major investment to bring him in. Whether he makes the team or not is less important, the fact is each training camp roster has young guys, high draft picks, undrafted guys, has been veterans, superstars, solid core players and more. You need all of them to create the right balance of competition. Spencer will definitely not upset that balance.
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